Pope Francis recounts 'mischievous' youth in autobiography
Argentine pontiff reminisces on a childhood spent eating pizza, walking the streets and getting up to no good in his Buenos Aires neighbourhood.
Pope Francis reveals his "mischievous" youth in an autobiography published Tuesday, in a book that also touches on his childhood, immigration and ordering pizza.
In excerpts of Hope: The Autobiography provided by publishers, the pontiff recounts episodes from growing up in a multicultural neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, including things he would come to regret.
"I remember my sins and I am ashamed... I am a sinner like everyone else," the 88-year-old leader of the world's Roman Catholics writes, describing himself as a "mischievous child.”
The pope, who has repeatedly urged sympathy and care for migrants hoping to reach Europe, also tells of his own Italian grandparents' immigration to Argentina in 1929.
Holding only third-class boat tickets for the voyage, his grandmother had to hide her possessions in the lining of her jacket.
"There's nothing new about it. It's a story of yesterday as much as one of today," Francis writes.
He also recounts his surprise at being chosen in 2013 to lead the Catholic Church, saying: "I had never imagined that the conclave could affect me directly, and in no way could I have thought about a name as pope."
Francis also says he has not watched TV since 1990, "to respect a vow I made to the Virgen del Carmen on the night of July 15 of that year."
"That evening I was with my community in Buenos Aires, we were watching the TV, and a sordid scene appeared on the screen, which deeply offended me: I got up and left."
That has meant not being able to watch matches of his favourite San Lorenzo football team — though a Swiss Guard brings him match results — among the sacrifices of being pope.
"Going out for a pizza is one of the small things that I most miss," he writes.
"As a cardinal, I used to love walking the streets and taking the subway. I have always liked walking."
— TIMES/AFP